Inside Out Caramel Apples

There has always been a problem with caramel apples. The ratio is off, backwards even. There just isn’t enough caramel and you’re left with, well, a half eaten apple on a stick. I love apples, don’t get me wrong, it’s just not what I signed up for. It’s a let down. Like when you go trick-or-treating at your dentists house and he gives you a tooth brush and trial sized Colgate. Nothing WRONG with it, per se, just not what you were looking for. You want CANDY! Not something good for you, geesh. So, this recipe fixes that issue. More caramel and less apple. Enjoy, and don’t forget to floss.

Inside Out Caramel Apples

3 large Granny Smith apples

1 large lemon

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tbs butter

2 tbs light corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup chopped pecans

Chocolate sauce (optional)

Cut your apples in half and use a melon baller to scoop out the insides, leaving the walls intact at about 1/2 to 1/4 inch thickness.

Squeeze the juice from the lemon onto the apples and allow to set. This will keep them from turning brown right away.

In a sauce pan over high heat, add the brown sugar, butter, heavy cream and corn syrup. Stir until the brown sugar has dissolved. Allow to boil, stirring occasionally, until it reaches 230 degrees, about 7-10 minutes. Remove from heat and add the vanilla, stir continually until it stops bubbling. Allow to cool for about 10-15 minutes.

Using a paper towel, wipe your apples down, removing the lemon juice as much as possible. If the inside of your apple is too wet, the caramel wont stick.

Pour the caramel into the hollowed out apples until just below the top.

Sprinkle with pecans.

Chill in the refrigerator until the caramel has set, about 20 minutes.

Cut into slices and drizzle with chocolate sauce if desired.

I used the same chocolate sauce that I used on these cupcakes, and put it in a Wiltons squeeze bottle.

I feel like I need to add a Caramel Addendum.

This recipe seems to work great for some people, and not so for others. Which, to be honest, completely breaks my heart. I hate that it doenst work for everyone.

It does seem like people are having an easier time with a maple candy recipe, like this one, in place of the caramel sauce.

You can also make “Cheater Caramel Sauce.” I used to make this, years ago, when I was still really new to cooking. Just take 2 cups of store bought caramel squares (out of the wrapper, of course) and melt them in a sauce pan over low heat, with 2 tbs of corn syrup. (Looks like this type of caramel is giving people some problems when it comes to cutting the apples, but for some people it works fine. Make sure your apples are very dry before the caramel and your knife is very sharp!)

If you buy caramel sauce, make sure it is really firm at room temperature or it will just run all over the place once you cut the apples into slices.

Oh I love this idea! I always had a problem with the ratio in toffee apples and I didn’t like that everything got sticky and by the time the apple was sufficiently reached I never wanted it anymore. Its such a simple idea, turning it inside out, it makes so much sense and is certainly one I will be trying when bonfire night comes around!

Don’t be scared! If you can find a store bought that is really firm at room temp, then it’ll be fine. But if it is one of those super runny ice cream topping kinds, it will just run all over the place once you cut the apple into slices.

What a great idea! I am certainly going to try these for a upcoming Halloween party. One question though, the party is in the middle of the week and because I work full time during the day I would want to prepare these the night before. So A. have you done that? and B. any other freshness tips besides lemon juice? Thank you very much for the post, I’m sure they will be a hit and gone in seconds!

Thanks! I’m actually not sure that they would last a full 24 hours without browning and wilting. Not sure what to tell you. If you slice and hollow the apples the night before and leave them in water/lemon juice solution, and then just dry them really well and assemble them the next day, that might work, but I’ve never tried it. I don’t know how long they can last in the water without turning soggy. Also, it depends on what kind of caramel sauce you plan to make. I would recommend, if possible, that you make whatever type you are going to make and then let it cool in the pan, cover it with aluminum foil, and then put it in the fridge and just reheat it the next day and assemble. Not sure what else you can do. Good luck and let me know how it turns out!

what about spraying or brushing a tiny bit of oil on plastic wrap and covering the apples with it after the caramel has set? Then cover with towel or foil to hold it down. It won’t stick to the caramel ’cause of the nut bits/oil, but it would lay on the exposed apple cutting off air to them. fwiw

I just had a terrible time trying to make this recipe with the “cheater” caramel sauce. When I would let it cool, it would get too sticky to pour. I reheated it and added more corn syrup, but it still wouldn’t pour well, so I ended up pouring it while it was still warm. When it cooled, there was a thin layer of watery caramel on the bottom so the bulk of the caramel wouldn’t stick to the apple. Slicing the cooled caramel was difficult, which made the apple “shell” crack. The picture of the cooked caramel looks like it has a more fudgy-firm texture suitable for slicing, so I am going to give that a try this time.

This sounds AWESOME. I can’t believe that no-one makes caramel apples out of any other variety than Granny Smiths. (To me, those are only for baking, when there will be some sugar added.) I am absolutely thrilled, and cannot wait to try them with Golden Delicious apples.

Great! I think the reason people (including myself) make them with Granny Smith is that they hold up really well after being cut. Other varieties just brown too quickly. Golden Delicious are a lot sweeter, less tart, but also have bit of a softer consistency, brown quicker but still do pretty well after being cut. Arangeh actually are least prone to browning, but are much harder to find. Red Delicious brown the quickest. Is it SUPER obvious that I grew up across the “street” from two apple orchards ? 😉

i have to let you know this doesn’t work well with cheater caramel sauce! I just made it tonight and the cheater caramel sauce doesn’t work very well with it. I ended up melting chocolate chips to use it as “glue”. I’m sure they’ll still be a hit, but it wasn’t as expected and we remade them over.

Hey Jaxie!!! I am making these today for our Carnivale Freakshow Halloween party tomorrow night! I am going to do a test run today and let you know if I can completely mess it up!! I’ll let you know now they turn out and take pictures as well to send to you

I just made these for dessert tonight and I used Kraft’s caramel bits. I followed the instructions that they give for doing caramel apples and I didn’t have any problems with it. The only problem I did have was that the apples like to move and I had to “prop” them to stay how I wanted. Other than that….I also used a super sharp large knife that I use to cut squash and sweet potatoes and that cut through everything just fine.

I want to make these for a BBQ this saturday – I can already see peoples faces. I’m on a cleanse and won’t be able to try but that’s ok.
Do you think making them the night before will be ok or are they really something you need to make and serve?

I’m not sure. I assume that it wouldn’t go well sitting overnight. I would say that you can cut the apples in half, scoop them out, add lemon to them and then put them in a big ziplock and refrigerate. Make the caramel the night before and then just reheat the day of. Make sure to dry the apples really really well before adding the caramel and use a very sharp knife.

I’m so sorry it didn’t work for you, thats so frustrating. The hotter caramel gets during the boil, the harder it will be once it cools. SO probably, either it wasn’t boiled to a high enough temperature (your thermometer could be off) or it wasn’t cooled long enough.

I had trouble with the caramel setting up as well. It was watery on the bottom and wouldn’t stick to the apples. I used a thermometer and dried out the apples really well. Maybe I’ll try again another time. My candy thermometer instructed me to cook caramel to a higher temp. ??

What an amazing idea. I want to make these this weekend for my harvest party. Do you know if the caramel will stay firm in the heat? I live in Malaysia and I don’t want them to melt all over the place!